{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"W. A. (Bill) Rogers","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nWilliam Anthony \u201cBill\u201d Rogers is the incumbent Sheriff of Columbus County, North Carolina. He filed as the Republican candidate for both the March 3, 2026 primary and the November 3, 2026 general election for sheriff, per the NC State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing list [4]. As of January 2025, The News Reporter described him as Columbus County's \u201csitting sheriff\u201d [3].\n\n## Office history\n\nThe Columbus County Board of Commissioners named Rogers, of Evergreen, sheriff in November 2022 [1], then named him sheriff again in January 2023 \u2014 what The News Reporter described as a \u201cdeja vu move\u201d [2].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\n\nFormer Columbus County sheriff's deputy Joshua Craig McPherson announced on Facebook in January 2025 that he was running against Rogers for sheriff; Rogers told The News Reporter at the time that he planned to run in 2026 to keep the position [3].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Bill Rogers appointed sheriff \u2013 NR Columbus](https://www.nrcolumbus.com/article_dc6c5e50-8d54-11ed-b0b5-4b738deb0e30.html) \u2014 published 2022-11-05, accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[2] [Rogers named Columbus County sheriff \u2013 NR Columbus](https://www.nrcolumbus.com/article_041c10be-8d44-11ed-95d5-cf3b44e51f92.html) \u2014 published 2023-01-05, accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[3] [McPherson to challenge Rogers in 2026 sheriff\u2019s race \u2013 NR Columbus](https://www.nrcolumbus.com/article_4583121e-d2bb-11ef-8beb-e75704a8ae64.html) \u2014 published 2025-01-14, accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[4] [NC State Board of Elections \u2014 2026 Candidate Filing List](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19","firstname":"William","lastname":"Rogers","middlename":"Anthony","suffix":null,"token":"2633c049d73f46a8"},"token":"5Qyu50YZUv7j3E7V"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"sheriff","o.office":"county_sheriff","office":"county_sheriff","officedescription":"The sheriff is the county's chief law-enforcement officer. The office operates the county jail, provides court security, serves civil process and executes warrants, and provides patrol and investigation \u2014 a large operational command with a substantial budget.","officequalities":"- Organizational leadership of a sheriff's office spanning patrol, investigations, court services, and the county jail.\n- Oversight of the county jail, including intake, inmate health, and release procedures.\n- Working knowledge of Tennessee criminal law, court process, and constitutional search-and-seizure standards.\n- Ability to develop and oversee the office's operating budget with public accountability.\n- Coordination with municipal police departments and neighboring-county and state agencies.\n- A documented law-enforcement or public-safety background.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Sheriff","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Columbus County Sheriff"}